Decorative metallic leaf.



Toiall Q/2071?) it may, concern.

st it known that l, JULIUS A. C. FIGHT- arrfsmlnn, a citizen bfthe United'Statedand resident of the borough of Richmond, tactnmty of Richmond, city "and State of New York, have made a certain new and useful invention Relating to Decorative Metallic Leaf, of which the following is a specification.

y This invention-relates to non-oxidizing or nonstaining metallic decor ative leaf preferably comprising powdered aluminum or other metallic coloring matter of such charact'er as tobe permanent against leather compositions or other action to which such artificial gold leaf or the like is subject under conditions of use.- sArtificial gold leaf may be made .in-this way by spraying or' otherwise applying to, a sized backing or other suitable support such as glass, polished metal, etc., in some cases, a layer .of binding material comprising besides volatile soltents and dis olvedc olloidal protective ma terial, suitab e yellowish tinting material and incorporated powdered aluminum orother suitable'imtallic coloring matter, the leafibeingpreferably allowed to dry slowly enoiigh so"asto'effect the strat-ificatlon of the ,dis fsolvedtinting and protective mateso rial adjacent the sized backing so as to form a glaZe'd protective layer acting to tmt to the desired gold color the aluminum powder which seemsto stratify in the other side of thelayer' giving the leaf a silvery metallic 3c luster when viewed from that side.

It is desirable to use the yellowish or orange coloringmiatter for the tinting materiallemployed in making artificial gold aleaf, of this description and the tinting ma- '18 ren al, should'preferably have sufficient permaiiencefto resist the action of light and othe influences to which it is naturally ex- Su'itable tinting materials for-this tlfpjj pose are naphthalene yellow, auramin, au inixalcohol yellow, gum gamboge, drag on .bl tinting materials being employed in such amounts as to 'give the desired tinge or shade to the metallic luster leaf, more being of course used for deep gold leaf than for the light gold artificialleaf which is also used for decorative purposes. The tinting iratesmras aro. ricgrrniunusn, or NEW YORK, n. Y., ASSIGNOR TO DIAMOND DECORA- v 13 127. coMrANY, or s'rArLEToN, swarm: ISLAND, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION Specification-of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 18,1913.

ood or the like, one or more of these nae caries.

' pn'cona'rrvn METALLIC LEAF,

Patented Nov, 16, 1915. Serial No. 796,073. I

in which the bindirg material employed is also dissolved or incorporated, the binding material preferably comprising colloidal or protective material giving the desired strength or body to the leaf and also protecting the tinting and coloring material in.- corporated therein. Resinous gums, such as copal, sandarac, mastic, and so forth, may be used for the binding and protective materlal, together with more or \less soluble cellulose, such as acetyl or nitrated cellulose or the like, all being; dissolved in suitable volatile organic solvents therefor, such for example as wood, grain or amyl alcohol, or their esters, such as amyl acetate, or acetone, or other ketones, ethers, and so forth. It is also desirable for'many purposes to employ in the compositions suitable softening material properly cooperating with the binding or protective material so as to insure the desired pliability and toughness of the leaf and also in some cases to promote its adhesjzte properties when stamped or otherwise applied to the sized or even unsized surfaces. Camphor or other unctuous, that is. liable. waxy matei ial acting in a general similarway is desirable for this purpose and seems to minimize'adhesion of the leaf to heated embossing, bookbinding tools. for instance. In producing duplex metallic leaf as above described in which the finished leaf has a tinted or goldappearance onone side and a lustrous silver appea'rance'on the, other side due to the stratification of powdered aluminum adjacent thereto, it is desirable to have the sol.- vents of'such character and present in such proportion as-to facilitate this stratifying action, for which reason also the finelydi stantially equal parts of amyl acetate, of

benzin and of denatured or grain alcohol, the solution being preferably effected first in the amyl acetate. )When a homogeneous' solution of the protective and softening material has been effected the tinting material to dry slowly. While if the'drying of the may be incorporated therewith as by dissolving about one and one-half ounces of naphthalene yellow in a gallon of this com- -position and then stirring in so as to thoroughly incorporate therewith about ten- J ounces of finely divided aluminum powder to make a homogeneous composition which preferably soon after its preparation should 7 be sprayed or otherwise applied to the backmg material to form the leaf.

Another illustrative composition may be formed by dissolving three to four'ounces of camphor and one to three ounces of sandarac and two to three ounces of acetyl or nitratedcellulose in agallon of a suitable volatile solvent therefor, such as a mixture of one-third to one-half of amyl acetate with diacetone alcohol, benzol or benzin. And in incorporating with a gallon of such solution about two ounces of 'naphthafene yellowor auramin and 'one-half ounce of gum ga'mboge and uniformly dissolving such tinting material therein and then incorporating about'ten-ounces of aluminum powder with the composition when deeper gold leaf is desired. 7

Other illustrative liquid binding compo sitions or carrier liquids are indicated in my former Patents 976,994 of November 29, 1910-and 9 84,805of February 21, 1911, which also describe in some detail the general method of making leaf of this description'as by-spraying or otherwise applying the compositions to sized backing paper or other fabric and separating the dried decoratlve leaf from the backing by suitable solution of the sizing material.- In making metallic decorative leaf such as the duplex metallic leaf or other imitation gold leaf, it is desirable to quickly and uniformly-apply; the me-' tallic compositions and form a. layer thereof which can be allowed to dry under uniform conditions so as to promote and effect the desired stratification in manufacturingfdupleX leaf of this character. For -these'rea+ sons it is desirable to spray the composition uniformly upon the sized paper backing or other support and. then effect the drying of the applied layer under such conditions as to allow the Stratification of the dissolved tinting and protective material adjacent the sized surface of the backing, for instance, which usually takes place with such illustrativecompositions within one or several minutes or so, even a minute being suflicient for some of these compositlons to. separate or stratify to the desired extent through the unusual surface tension or other physical or qu'asichemical action which seems to take 'place. A layer of yellowish composition of this character comprising incorporated g5 powdered'aluminum which looks distinctly yellow when firet sprayed upon the sized paper backingwillturnl'to a distinctly silvery color within a minute'or so if allowed volatilesolvents is-hastened by additional heat or'byforced air currents the original yellowish color of the freshly applied layer is maintained so as to be present in the-fully dried leaf which is thus substantially Hill",

formly yellowish orgolden colored on both sides when removed from the ,backing,

lVhen, however, the stratification iseffected as seems desirable in making this duplex metallic leaf the; dissolved tinting and a,

tective material seems to stratify adjacent the size backing which thus gives a smooth or-burnished surface to this'yellowish face ofthe leaf whichalso has'a metallic luster,

thusclosely imitating gold leaf and making and also having the important advantage that it is practically free'from the discoloration or staining produced by many kinds of leather on many-kindsQf artificial gold leaf comprising bronze powder or the like. The Stratification referred to' also gives a much terial above the metallic coloring matter of many purposes it is unnecessary to apply to this face of the" leafany additional protective layer .or coating, although if desired an addltlonal coatlng of impervious or colloidal materlal'may be applied to tlns gold colored face of the duplex leaf where itis to beused If dew 5 under especially severe conditions.

thicker layer or coating of protective ma- .5: the leaf under these conditions so that forsired also-the reverse or silver colored face of the duplex leaf-may be similarly pro-.

te'cted by an additional impervious or pro I tectl-ve' coating preferably comprlsmg colloidal 'material. which may I of. course be sprayed upon the dried leaf before it is removed from the backing material. i For many purposes, however, it is unnecessary to apply any'such additional protective layers to the duplexleaf which can thus be formed strength and also'serves to make the leafadherent to cloth, leather or other material to which it is applied'and good adhesion lieon the backing in a .single operation, the "F5 The protective ma-: a

can :be readily secured when such'leaf is bossing tools especially when the leaf body comprises camphor or other softening mastamped with slightly heated .dies oremterial which seems to promote clean and desirable stamping action. v I

It s of course understood that one or more faces of the duplex or other metallicleaf may be given a different tint or color by employing in connection therewith different coloring matter, such for example, as crystal violet, safranin, eosin, fuchsin, Bismarck brown, and so forth which can be used in' about the same proportions as the yellowish tint or coloring matter previousl suggested for use where a gold colored face is to be formed on the duplex leaf. If desired also these or other colors may be separately applied or sprayed upon the body of the leaf so as to 'ive the desired tint with or without metallic luster, preferably in 'connection with the aluminum or other permanent powdered coloring matter used in the leaf body.

about a pound of gum shellac or other suitable gum in a gallon of wood alcohoL-or other suitable solvent. 'In this way the sizing is localized on he surface of the leaf, although it is of 'course amparent that suitable sizing composition maybe otherwise incorporated with the leaf so as to obviate the special sizing "operation sometimes used in applying such leaf.

This invention has been described in connection with a number of illustrative ingredients, compositions, formulas, proportions and methods of operation, to the details of which disclosure the inventio n is not of course'to be limited, since what is claimed as new and what is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim 1. The duplex metallic decorative leaf having a body comprising colloidal protective and binding materialv including cellulose ester and incorpo'ated powdered aluminum metallic coloring matter, and incorporated dissolved rganic yellow tinting material stratified adjacent one side of said duplex leafto form a gold colored face thereon. the metallic coloring matter being stratified adjacent and more clearly visible from the other side of said leaf to form a silver colored face thereon.

2. The duplex metallic decorative leaf having a bod v comprising colloidal protective and binding material and incorporated aluminum metallic coloring matter. and incorporated yellow tinting material stratified adjacent one .side of said duplexleaf to form a gold colored face thereon, the me tallic coloring matter being Stratified adjacent and more clearly visible from the other side of said leaf to form asilver colvored face thereon.

3. The thin pliable duplex metallic decorative leaf having a body comprising colloidal protective and binding material and incorporated powdered white metallic aluminum coloring matter, and incorporated dissolved organic yellow tinting material Stratified adjacent one side of said duplex leaf to form a gold colored face thereon, the metallic coloring matter being more readily visible from the other side of said leaf to form a silver colored'face thereon.

4:. The thin pliable duplex metallic decorative leaf having a body comprising protective and binding material and incorporated powdered white metallic coloring matter, and incorporated tinting material stratified adjacent-one side of said duplex leaf to form a gold colored face thereon, the metallic coloring matter being more readily visible from the other side of said leaf to form a silver colored face thereon.

5. The artificial gold leaf practically free from discoloration from ordinary'leather on which it may be used, having a substantially burnished face and abody comprising protective or binding materiahincorporated powderedmetallic aluminum coloring matter and incorporated dissolved organic yellow tinting material stratified adjacent the face of said leaf to produce a gold colored lustrous metallic appearance in connection with the metallic coloring matter.

6. The artificial gold leaf practically free from discoloration from ordinary leather on which it may be used, having a substantially .burnished face and a body comprising protective or binding inaterial, incorporated metallic aluminum coloring matter and incorporated organic yellow tinting material stratified adjacent the facerof said leaf to produce a gold colored lustrous metallic appearance in connection with the metallic coloring matter.

7. The artificial gold leaf having a body comprisingprotective or binding material, incorporated metallic aluminum coloring matter and incorporated tinting material stratified adjacent the face of said leaf to produce 11 gold colored appearance in connection with the coloring matteref 8. The artificial gold leaf practically free from discoloration from ordinary leather on which it may be used. having a body comprising protective or binding material. incorporated powdered aluminum metallic coloring matter and incorporated organic yellow tinting material stratified adjacent 9, Thg'ai-tificial gold; leaf practically free xthi-ch 'itma-y be used having a body "com- -'prising protective or binding material, in-

corporated 'powdergd White metallic colorm discoloration tram ordinary leather oli iglewm ".teria-l t6 produce a goldcolored lustrous me- 10 tallic appearance in connection with the metaHic colorin matter.

JULIU A. ,G..FICHTMUELLER. Witnesses 4 1 JESSIE B. KAY, ALBERT THAYER. 

